The Scarlet Arbitress: Contracts of Starlight and Shadow - The Cheerful Fugitive and the Silver-Gray Pursuer

Veridian before dawn. The city still slept. Beneath a sky stained pale violet, footsteps moved swiftly across the stone pavement. Meredith. Her breathing came ragged, sweat beading at her temples. Her deep chestnut waves lay disheveled, her black robes soiled with mud and perspiration. For fourteen years she had kept order as a magistrate. Now she fled from order itself. Since the moment she had dissolved the debt-bondage contract in Kelvan Village, the pursuit of the Covenant Archmagistry had not ceased. Footsteps, shouts, arrows of light—all echoed at her back without pause. (The Broken Scale tavern... the rear entrance...) Meredith threw herself into a side passage. A dark alley. Ancient buildings rose on either side, and between them, stars showed faintly. She pressed her hand against the relic hidden in her robes. It was warm. A warmth that seemed to encourage her, as if the thing itself believed in what she did. The tavern's rear entrance came into view. She did not hesitate. She plunged through. "Hey, miss. That's actually my escape route." Meredith spun around, breath catching. There stood a young man. Bright chestnut hair, short, with bangs that jutted upward. Eyes of jade green, holding a smile of mild bewilderment. A small silver hoop pierced his right ear. Perhaps twenty-six. He wore the light armor of a mercenary and cradled a wine barrel in his arms. "...What are you doing here?" Meredith asked. The man shrugged. "Tried to steal a wine barrel. Failed. Got caught by the proprietor. That's how it is." His manner of speech was light, offhand. "You being chased by contract enforcers? Rough." "It is none of your concern," Meredith said. "Fair enough." The man, barrel still in his arms, ran deeper into the alley. "But they're coming from that direction too. Same way we're headed. Let's escape together." Meredith hesitated for only a moment. She was not one to trust others easily, but now she had no luxury of choice. The footsteps of her pursuers drew steadily nearer. "...Very well," she said. Meredith followed the man. He guided her along a rooftop escape route, saying "This way." He clearly knew this city well. They skirted several alleys, leaping from roof to roof. But his clumsiness became his undoing. His foot slipped on an old tile. He tumbled forward directly onto Meredith. The two of them nearly plummeted from the roof's edge. Meredith caught his arm by reflex and managed to brace herself. But in doing so, she found herself pinned beneath him. His warm body. His breath against her cheek. His jade eyes—mere centimeters from her own. "Ah—I—I'm sorry," he stammered. His name was Kess Renault. A mercenary. He scrambled to his feet in confusion. Meredith felt heat rise to her face. (What is this...?) She was startled by her own reaction. Despite the peril of their situation, his clumsiness and warmth had somehow given her an odd sense of security. "You're heavy," she said. "Ah, yeah. Sorry about that. When things get like this, I just panic." Kess rose and extended his hand to her. She hesitated for a moment, then took it. A warm hand. The voices of their pursuers drew closer. Three Wardens—contract enforcers—appeared in the alley below. "Stop! Contract violator!" Kess said "Just wait a moment" and drew something from his pocket. A smoke pellet. Without hesitation, he hurled it. White smoke billowed upward with a soft whoosh. "Run!" Kess shouted. Meredith ran again. Shoulder to shoulder with Kess, they vanished into the depths of the alley. The Wardens froze within the smoke. At last, they reached the alley's mouth. The dawn light painted the sky crimson. "...Why did you help me?" Meredith asked. Kess, breathing heavily, shrugged. "I can't leave people in trouble. Besides—" He looked at her. For just an instant, something sincere flickered in his jade eyes. "You seem interesting. You're trying to do something that matters." Meredith regarded Kess with a complicated expression. This irresponsible, clumsy mercenary—and yet he perceived something true. "...I am being hunted by the Covenant Archmagistry," she said. "The Covenant Archmagistry?" Kess's expression changed. A faint tension crossed his features. "Those people who control all the contracts?" "Yes." Kess fell silent for a moment. In that silence, something calculated flickered across his face. He possessed insight beneath his brightness. "Where are you headed next?" he asked. "...I have not yet decided." "Then why don't we work together?" Kess proposed. "I know this city. And I think we'd have the upper hand over those Covenant bastards." Then came another sound of footsteps. Slow. Dignified. Tense. Meredith's body went rigid by instinct. Her experience as a magistrate told her exactly who approached. A tall man with silver-grey hair emerged from the alley's depths. Perhaps one hundred eighty-two centimeters in height. His features were refined, intelligent. Beneath his left eye, a contract rune was tattooed in ink. And above all, his cold silver eyes fixed upon Meredith with absolute certainty. The eyes of the Covenant Archmagistry. "Meredith Crane." His voice was calm. Cultured, polite. Yet absolute authority dwelt within those words. "I place you under arrest for the crime of contract dissolution. I am Aldric, Seventh Seat of the Covenant Archmagistry." Aldric raised his hand. Celestial light began to gather around him. A binding contract of light. Meredith gripped her relic tightly. Kess muttered, "Wow, they actually caught up." Meredith took a deep breath. (As I suspected... this was inevitable.) She stepped forward. "That contract was—" Aldric cut her off. "It is not for you to decide whether law is just or unjust. By the jurisprudence of the Covenant Archmagistry, all contracts are deemed sacred. Your act of dissolution is rebellion against order itself." Meredith met Aldric's gaze. In the depths of his cold silver eyes, she sensed something. The same shadow of doubt that dwelt in her own heart. For just an instant, Aldric's brow furrowed. Something had stirred within him. But his expression returned almost at once—cold, the perfect visage of a law enforcer. "The people of Kelvan Village—" Meredith began. "Say no more." Aldric raised his hand. Threads of light wove themselves around Meredith and her surroundings. Kess threw himself between them, hurling another smoke pellet at Aldric. "Run!" Meredith escaped his gaze for a moment. She and Kess ran again. Within the smoke, Aldric stood motionless. In his mind, Meredith's words echoed. *That contract was wrong.* And the burning passion that had dwelt in her eyes. (This woman...) Aldric clenched his fist. He ordered his subordinates to continue pursuit, but deep within his heart, something wavered. Had he not once thought the same thing? Such dangerous thoughts. Meredith and Kess made for Rustwater. As the dawn light painted the sky ever deeper crimson, their shadows vanished into the city's labyrinth. What awaited them next, none yet knew. But this was certain: by this encounter in the night, the world had begun to move. Aldric repeated her words again and again. *That contract was wrong.* The weight of those words had begun to shake his conviction—slowly, but inexorably.

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Episode 2

Name: The Scarlet Arbitress: Contracts of Starlight and Shadow
Author: Novelia

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